


i believe in us, darling

by suckitaynrand



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, Birthday Sex, COVID-19, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, References to Depression, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:01:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27948728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckitaynrand/pseuds/suckitaynrand
Summary: After almost 8 months of staying at home, Grace and Frankie battle with the emotional turmoil of isolation, growing older, and navigating through their feelings about life.
Relationships: Frankie Bergstein/Grace Hanson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

77 years old.

That’s a long life. She’s passed so many things along the way. She’s witnessed some of the greatest triumphs and tragedies the world has gone through.  _ But _ , Frankie realizes, _ none has affected her as directly as the current one.  _

She and Grace have not been out in public for almost 8 months. 

Sure, they’ve been out of the house for a daily drive to explore new spots on their well-trodden beach. But they haven’t seen any of their loved ones for almost 243 days. That means no hugs from their grandchildren, no Tuesday dinners with Robert and Sol and the kids, no more dragging Grace around the farmers market or the craft store or frozen yogurt. Two of Frankie’s friends suffered from the virus and did not recover, one of them just passing yesterday. During these last 8 months, people she loves are suffering every day, and the worst part is that it is that way for everybody.

One memorable moment was not being able to celebrate Faith’s birthday in person. Sure, she face timed Bud and Allison and sent an abundance of gifts, but it wasn’t the same as getting to hold her, to breathe her in, and to hold her close. When Faith looked at the camera, Frankie was no longer greeted with her usual happy “Mimi!”, the toddler just looked at the computer as if she had no idea who was talking to her. Frankie could tell that the bond between her and her granddaughter was losing its footing, and it broke her heart into pieces. Frankie hated that she wasn’t younger, that she didn’t have enough time left to make sure that her kids and grandchildren inherit a safe world to live in.

Thankfully, her person is still with her, healthy, sarcastic, and full of life as always. Grace has managed to be strong throughout this tough period. She holds Frankie when she cries, when she’s mad, or even just any old time because she wants to reassure the both of them  _ that we’re still here, we’ll get through this together.  _

Frankie has spent most of their time living together pre-pandemic (and pre-Nick and post-second-divorce) having to encourage Grace to talk about her feelings, but now she expresses them freely. She certainly has become more accountable for kicking Frankie in the ass when she has a bad attitude instead of just letting the negative energy fester. 

She also no longer has trouble being vulnerable with her feelings, no longer scared to ask for a kiss or initiate and take control of an intimate moment. 

And Frankie couldn’t be more grateful.

She’s never felt this off-balance. She’s a very social person, even the more introverted, private part of her still required socialization. She’s so happy Grace understands, that Grace asks about what she is feeling and knows exactly how to fix it, or at least tell the pain to fuck off for a little while so they can enjoy each other’s presence, each other’s bodies.

No one in their circle would believe it, but it all started with a look from Grace one evening on the deck. The look turned into a kiss, then a long, heartfelt conversation that then led them to later opening up their mind, and soul, and bodies to each other completely. Old wounds were healed and Grace and Frankie enjoyed each other’s love and desire. 

This is why she’s so confused on the morning of her birthday when her heart feels heavy as if everything is falling apart and the stitches on her heart were once again opened. She feels guilty because she knows her lover has devoted so much time to mend her heart. The only other time she can remember when she felt like this was early on in her marriage to Sol.cThey had tried to expand their family several times, and the one time that it worked, that she became pregnant, it ended in heartbreak and deep disappointment that she thought she would never recover from. 

Besides the initial pain of that moment, she remembers when she would sink into depressive episodes very similar to the one she woke up in today. The ones where her body felt to heavy to remove itself from the confines of the bed, where eating became an impossible feat, where nothing seemed to really matter. She knows other people are going through so much worse right now, but she also knows that she has to let her emotions play out, just like everyone else. She is allowed to feel _ sad _ . To feel for the people who are no longer here, for the people suffering, for all of the heartaches in the world.

And on the morning of her 77th, she indulges that sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. So I've uploaded two times this week. Crazy. But...working on multiple stories at once, at least for me, keeps my ideas fresh. The muse must really be with me :) I feel like Grace is usually really emotionally dependent on Frankie, especially later in the series, and I wanted to sort of switch things up and add a touch of the struggles of the real world right now. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Frankie opens her eyes, and immediately notices the lack of Grace’s warm body next to her. The thought forms tears in her eyes, already adding another knife into the collection that has lodged themselves into her heart this early morning.

Every day since that first night, the one where they spoke their feelings and everything came to fruition, Frankie has woken up at the same time as Grace. She had wanted to spend as much time as her body would allow with Grace, so she started going to bed earlier and rising around 7:30 in the morning instead of waking at noon. Grace appreciates that Frankie is now apart of all aspects of her daily routine, solitude no longer needed nor wanted. Frankie has never missed a morning with Grace since then and still holds hope that maybe Grace just went to the bathroom, that she would be coming back and Frankie could hold her and run her hands through her hair.

But she turned over, and alas, Grace’s side of the bed is made and her pills for the day have already been consumed. She looks over at the bathroom, and the door is open, no one occupying it. Frankie grabs Grace’s pillow and buries her face in it, inhaling the distinct scent of different Say Grace products and the more musky, natural scent of Grace’s skin. A deep disappointment and over herself fell over her, realizing that she missed out on sharing her morning with her favorite person. She lets out a deep sigh and pulls the pillow back under the covers with her.

A little while passes, and she faintly hears the bedroom door creak open, something being placed on the nightstand, and then she becomes aware that Grace is standing over her curled up figure. She expects to hear a “Frankie, it’s past noon” or “Your breakfast is getting cold”. In her mind, Grace would sound disappointed, would be agitated at Frankie for breaking their months-long streak of always being near each other.

As she braces for this, a soft hand rubs her shoulder, and another one brushes the hair away from her neck so a pair of warm lips can descend or kiss just under her ear. Frankie melts.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart” Grace whispers in her ear as the arm that was stroking her shoulder moves to gently tracing along her jaw.

Frankie moves her head to look at her, and what she was feeling must be showing on her face, because Grace’s brows knit together, the sparkle in her eyes vanishing.

“What’s wrong?”

Grace fishes Frankie’s hand out from under the cover and laces their fingers together, her other hand lacing through Frankie’s hair. When Frankie fails to meet Grace’s gaze, Grace grows more concerned. She gently turns Frankie’s face towards her and sees the glistening tears.

“Baby…” Grace coos softly.

Frankie notices the tray of breakfast; pancakes with whipped cream and gummy bears with a candle stuck in the middle. She now realizes why Grace hadn’t been there when she had woke up, she was busy preparing this. Frankie immediately feels guilty for ruining the celebration and causing her lover to worry.

“I’m so sorry.” She chokes out.

“Why are you sorry?” Grace asks her incredulously.

“I just-I just thought that you were going to be mad at me for not getting up with you, but then I realized that you were doing all of this,” she gestures towards the tray of breakfast “I feel so stupid and sorry.” she finishes as she wipes at her eyes, trying her best to smile.

Grace smiles and gestures to Frankie so that she can help her sit up. Once they’re both in a sitting position, Grace draws her in, Frankie’s cheek rests where her neck meets her shoulder.

“Sweetheart, why would that make me upset?”

“I don’t know, Grace I just- I don’t even know why I thought that. It was stupid, really.” Frankie musters up her best smile and pulls from Grace’s embrace to give her a wink. All Grace does is cup Frankie’s face in her hands and leans their foreheads together. They breathe each other in for a second, then Frankie feels rather than sees Grace raise an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

“Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?” Grace asks calmly as she strokes her lover’s cheek with her thumb. Frankie rolls her eyes, trying to force her mind out of its slump.

“Grace, I’m fi-”

There’s a yelp as Grace pinches Frankie just below her ribs. Frankie looks up at grace, annoyed, and Grace matches her expression exactly.

“What the hell was that for?” 

“Bullshit! Don’t act like you don’t know. You were about to lie to me. I intervened before a tragedy occurred.” Grace said matter-of-factly as she resituated herself so she was facing away from Frankie and fluffed out her hair, taming it with her fingers. She was so proud of herself for being a smart-ass.

Seconds pass without either of the women speaking, until Grace loses her pristine posture, slumps a little, and curls her knees up to her chest.

“Why are you lying to me?” She says softly.

“I’m not! Grace I-”

Grace’s head whips around and gives Frankie a feisty frown.

“Fine Grace. Okay, I um- was just feeling upset about everything. I really miss our family and going places with you. It’s just so hard, knowing so many people are suffering. And how Jason died yesterday…” She trails off, fresh tears form from the bitter memory “You’ve been so good to me, making sure I’m ok, talking me out of my slumps. I just didn’t want to make you deal with all of that again. You’ve done so much, you’ve done everything and you don’t need to help me clean up my emotions along with yours. I don’t want to do that to you any-”

“Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop it!” 

Grace turns back towards Frankie and crosses her arms. Then she lights into her.

“So let’s walk through this morning so far. Number one, I come up here with our breakfast to find you crying under the covers because you were afraid that you had hurt my feelings or something by not waking up with me. Why would I be mad about that? It’s your birthday and the whole point was for you to not know I was there. I’ll have you know it was extremely hard for my 80-year-old body to slide out of your death-like grip without you waking up.” 

Grace chuckles slightly, remembering how once she was halfway out, Frankie pulled her in closer than before, almost to the point where she couldn’t breathe. She then had to wait another 10 minutes before she began the slow journey of untangling her limbs from Frankie’s.

“Number two, we resolved those issues, and then you’re still upset, so I ask you, and you almost lied to me, which really pisses me off. Third, you’re upset and didn’t want to tell me, you’re partner because you were worried that it would annoy me or stress me out or some other bullshit-”

“It’s not bullshit!” Frankie interjects “It’s how I feel! I don’t want you to feel stressed out about me. I don’t want you to worry!

“No! You don’t get to do that Frankie! I can worry about anything I damn well, please! You don’t get to control how I feel about you or what I get myself into! If I want to be worried about you, then I will. That’s my choice!”

Grace’s voice has risen significantly since the start of their conversation, and Frankie feels guilty. This conversation is going the exact opposite of what she expected.

“Why are you getting so worked up about this?! It’s not a big deal” Frankie asks incredulously.

“Is too! I was married to someone who told little lies like that all the time for 40 years! And before you say “I’m not Robert” let me say something that you told me once. When you hold stuff back, even the littlest of things, they build walls. They block out others from getting in. That really resonated with me, Frankie. I don’t want that for us. You really underestimated me.”

“Sweetheart...I-”

“I’m not going to let that happen Frankie. You can fight against me all I want, but I’m not letting anything stop us from being as close as we can to each other, in every way.”

Grace stops then, and lowers her head into her hands, letting out a sigh. Her earlier confidence receding. Oh, and that guilt that Frankie was feeling, she couldn’t even put it into words because _she hurt her_ . She hurt the one person she valued most. Did the exact same thing that Grace used to do, built walls, convinced herself it was good for her and others surrounding her. Immediately, she vows to never do it again. _Make it right_ she thinks.

She lifts herself onto her knees and climbs over to Grace. She gently pulls her hands away from her face and smooths out the crease between her eyebrows with her thumb. Mirroring Grace’s actions from earlier, she leans their foreheads together and strokes her cheek.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t want that for us either. I should have trusted in you. As much as I hate making you worry, it’s not worth putting that barrier between us. I’m going to try my best, Grace, to never do it again. I promise.”

She seals it off with a firm, but chaste kiss to Grace’s lips. Pressing their foreheads back together, they join hands, and grace looks up at Frankie through her lashes.

“Thank you,” she whispers “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby. Are we okay?”

Grace presses their lips together. “Of course. Now, I made your favorite pancakes for us to eat and there are presents for you downstairs.” 

“You didn’t spoil me did you?” 

Frankie moves down to kiss along her neck. Grace tips her head back as her fingers lace back through Frankie’s hair.

“Hmm… no. The ones downstairs are from the kids. You’ll get mine later.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

Frankie nips at her earlobe. Grace chuckles and seals their lips together, Frankie teases with her tongue until Grace lets her in. They moan softly as the fall deeper, and their tongues fight for dominance. As soon as Frankie starts to untie Grace’s robe, grace pulls back and shakes her head, a coy smile adorning her face.

“Grace!” Frankie pouts.

“Frances, you’re going to need your energy for today,” she warns. “Now let’s eat.”

-

After breakfast, Grace pokes Frankie’s side to get her attention. Frankie watches in awe as Grace pulls a joint out of the pocket of her robe.

Then she asks a question that she had been dying to ask Grace for years.

“Did you roll that baby yourself?” 

“Yes. You can thank Brianna for teaching me. It was the longest Zoom call of my life.”

“You’ve never been hotter.”

Grace flushes and swats her shoulder. She moves the tray and pulls Frankie out onto the balcony, lights the joint, and cocks her head towards Frankie jauntily as she blows out the sweet smoke. Frankie looks on in astonishment.

“Shotgun?” Grace asks.

Frankie’s mind is suddenly flung back into the past, right after the first time she and Grace made love.

  
  
  


_They were giddy with excitement and were sitting on the back when Grace asked “What is shotgunning. In marijuana terms, I mean.” Frankie gave her a quizzical look, silently asking_ who are you and what have you done to my Grace _. Grace gave her a shrug and said “Brianna” It all made sense then._

_Not one to ever back down from teaching someone something new, Frankie said “Breathe in when I blow out” then proceeded to angle her mouth over Grace’s just so. She took a hit, then exhaled. When Grace exhaled, and the smoke cleared, Frankie saw something dangerous in her eyes, a glint of something very similar to the one she received earlier when Grace pulled her onto the mattress and made her forget everything._

_And then, on the balcony with the smell of sage and marijuana, Frankie had one of the most powerful orgasms of her life._

  
  
  


Frankie nodded and moved closer to Grace. Her inhale followed Grace’s exhale, and then she let the smoke float away on the breeze. Grace grabbed her face and pulled her in for a searing kiss. When they parted, Grace put out the half-smoked joint and extended her hand to Frankie.

“You ready to open presents?”

“Grace, don’t ask stupid questions.”

Grace tapped her on the ass and they walked downstairs, ready to take in the day before them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like you guys needed the first chapter, not just the prologue, so here it is! Let me know what your insights are in the comments!


	3. Chapter 3

After breakfast, she and Grace went downstairs and opened presents from their children. Frankie was especially happy to see the birthday cards, especially from their children. Among the presents was a finger painting by Faith, a new bong from Brianna, and a Bong Appetit cookbook from Bud, and many more thoughtful gifts. Frankie felt so blessed.

“That was so sweet of them,” Frankie remarked, “We’ll have to call them later.”

Grace hummed her agreement. Frankie pulled her hand closer so she could press a kiss into her palm. 

“Brianna is bringing us Del Taco for lunch.” 

Frankie turned around in her seat at a speed that was surprising for her age. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and awe.

“Really!? She got your blessing to bestow the gifts of the food goddesses on us?” 

Grace laughed.

“Yes, I’m not a total monster.” 

“No, you’re not. You’re the best, and this has been the best birthday ever.”

“How can you make that judgment? It’s not even over yet!” Grace exclaimed;

“Well, what else can there be? You made me breakfast in bed, we opened presents and we’re getting Del Taco. Sounds like the perfect day to me.”

Grace helped her up from the chair and draped her arms around her waist. She pressed her lips against Frankie’s, tasting coffee. Frankie sighed into the kiss, and just as she went to tease Grace with her tongue, Grace pulled away, resting their foreheads together. She peered at Frankie from underneath her lashes.

“Remember that thing I said upstairs?” 

“That you were giving me your present later?” Frankie asks, biting her lip in anticipation. “Is that time now?”

Grace shakes her head slowly, and Frankie draws her back in for another kiss, this one more heated, needier. Grace doesn’t stop her until once again, Frankie starts to fiddle with the tie of her robe. At that point, Grace pulls back and playfully swats her hands away with a little “Not yet!” 

Frankie groans.

“We have somewhere to be later but I thought we could maybe take a break after all the excitement, watch some tv?”

“There’s something else I’d rather watch,” Frankie said as she fiddles with the collar of Grace’s robe, “if you know what I mean.”

“Well, how about we settle for this right now.”

Grace pulls her over to the couch. They situate themselves so that Frankie’s back is against Grace’s front, and Grade hands Frankie the remote, granting her access to choose what they watch. The afghan on the back of the couch has been pulled so that it now covers them both. After turning on the tv and settling on a channel, Frankie lets her head fall back onto Grace's chest and laters in the sensations of Grace running her fingers through her hair. After she’s done choosing, she peers up at Grace.

“Thank you, sweetheart, it really has been the best birthday yet.”

“I told you, it’s not over yet.”

“I know. I just wanted to tell you how much I love and appreciate you. No one has ever made me feel like you do. Not even Sol. I’m just so lucky I have you, Grace.”

Grace looks down at her, their eyes meeting. She smoothes her thumb over Frankie’s brow.

“I’m so lucky to have you too, Frankie.” She says in a quiet voice, the love shining in her eyes.

“You deserve everything, sweetheart.”

Frankie’s heart swells, and not in the worrying, oh-my-god-call-911 way. It feels like pure elation is rising up and out of her, and she can’t help but let out a little noise of contentment. Frankie Bergstein loves Grace Hanson, and for some reason, Grace loves her back and tells her so quite often.

Frankie latches onto one of her hands and pulls it to her chest, cradling it near her heart. She sighs as she settles deeper into her lover’s embrace, content to just sit there within each other’s arms for a little while until the time for her unknown surprises come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very very short chapter. Not very good, but I wanted to update at least by Christmas to spur on my inspiration for the next chapter! Happy holidays to all of you!


	4. Chapter 4

It’s a little bit after 3 pm when Grace opens her eyes. She gently shifts and maneuvers her arm from underneath the covers, slowly moving it down Frankie's arm, tickling gently. She hears a small sigh of contentment.

“Are you planning to keep me like this all night?” Grace teases

“Mmmm… you're so soft and comfortable,” Frankie says as she turns her head to nuzzle it in Grace’s shoulder.

“I’m glad I could be of service, sweetheart,” Grace chuckled “but I have to get some things ready for tonight.”

A little while passes, and Grace wonders if she has fallen back asleep.

“Just a few more minutes?”

How can she resist?

“Fine. Then I really do have to get up. I have everything planned out so that we stay on schedu-”

“Honey, I’m sure whatever you have planned will still be as amazing if it happens ten minutes later than you planned it. Right now, I just want to enjoy our time together. I mean, come on, you make the perfect pillow! You can’t really expect a sleep professional like myself to give up on enjoying you for a few more minutes.”

“Oh shush…” Grace scoffs as she pulls the blanket over Frankie’s head and pokes her on the side.

“Hey! Hey, quit it!” Frankie all but squeals.

Frankie turns over so that her front is lying down against Grace’s and she can press a gentle peck to her lips. Grace thanks the lord that the couch is big enough for the both to lay side by side facing each other, if only so she doesn’t have to worry about Frankie drooling on her shirt. Frankie puts her arm around her waist and pulls her in, burrowing her head under Grace’s chin.

“Ten more minutes?”

“Five.”

“Ten and I won’t bug you while you get ready for whatever you have planned for us tonight.”

Grace ponders this for a second.

“Seven. That’s as high as I’ll go.”

Frankie runs her hand through Grace’s hair and presses a gentle kiss to her neck. Grace shivers.

“I’ll take it.”

-

Seven minutes ultimately turned into 15, and then 20 when Frankie got on top of Grace and fell into a dead sleep, trapping her quite efficiently. By the time Gace maneuvered herself out from under Frankie, they were going to be at least 25 minutes late to their destination. More if she had to defend her work area if Frankie woke up, God forbid.

Grace made her way over the kitchen. She quietly pulled the containers out of the back of the fridge and placed them in a bag along with a bottle of Chardonnay. Hiding it discreetly by the back door, she snuck upstairs and shut the door behind her. After her shower, she quickly blow-dried her hair and applied her makeup. She selected small, dainty earrings and rings, and put on her small little “G” necklace that Frankie made for her last year, gently running her finger over the small pendant with a fond smile.

Then she got to work. Fighting off her nerves about what she had planned, she made her way over to her closet, reading the instructions on how to hook up the new mechanism to the bed. It didn’t take too long considering she had read the directions dozens of times and always lost her nerve and shoved the contents back into the depths of their closet. Feeling relief that Frankie hadn’t walked in and caught her, Grace got busy setting out candles and covering the bedside lamps with red scarves. She pulled the New satin blindfold out from under her nightstand and set it on the edge of the bed. 

Realizing she had nothing left to prepare, the reality of what she had planned hit her. They had never done something like this before. They had briefly talked about it one evening, the conversation sparked from a particularly sensual scene that had been on the tv screen on one of their weekly movie nights. Frankie had changed the subjects when she saw the flush creeping up Grace’s neck, not able to meet her gaze. Frankie probably had dismissed it as embarrassment. Thought that Grace, not knowing how to counteract her suggestion without the fear of upsetting her so early into their fairly new relationship, was not interested.

But it was the opposite.

It was something Grace wanted too. In fact, she had been thinking of ways to bring up the subject again, but then the virus had hit and a lot of the time Grace and Frankie would have spent pondering their fantasies was suddenly taken up by worry and fear for their family’s safety and their own. Frankie had been so terribly upset at times recently, both of them having a difficult time adjusting to this new normal away from loved ones and their favorite activities, forced to look at their own mortality day after day. 

Grace wants nothing more to reassure her that they will get to have their normal again, that they will be okay. So far, they had been doing great, weren’t afraid of expressing their emotions and fears to each other. They depended on each other and brought joy to one another. But there were times, like this morning, that the prospect of the unknown future could ruin the most joyous occasions.

Grace had remembered that when she herself had low points during isolation, Frankie had always had an idea of something new for them to try, invent new ways for them to enjoy each other. So far she and Frankie had started a garden, dabbled in gentle couple’s yoga, started vlogging for their own viewership. They even have gone so far as to give each other “sensual massages”, building each other up to the point of climax so slowly and sweetly that Grace begged for it harder than she ever had before, then returned the favor, lengthening the process so that Frankie pleaded as much, if not more. It was a new hobby that they dabbled in often.

She had decided after this morning that now it was her turn to be brave, to use her creativity and come up with something that would bring back her lover’s dazzling smile on her special day. 

That’s when it hit her

The idea sent a bolt of arousal straight between her legs. She had bought the supplies they would need months ago, but always backtracked and told herself that _ Frankie wouldn’t like it _ or  _ that night she was just joking to get me flustered _ .  _ She will find this appalling and be absolutely disgusted by the proposition, be disgusted by me. _

Then she remembered Frankie that night. Remembered when she sneaked glances at Frankie during those erotic scenes only to see her face flushed, shifting so that she could hide the way her thighs were pressing together. More than once had she seen Frankie out of the corner of her eye gazing longingly towards her.

_ Frankie had been mistaken that night _ , Grace thought. She wasn’t upset about Frankie’s question, she was  _ incredibly  _ aroused that she had found that Frankie wanted this too and was worked up because of this delightful possibility that they could add this new element into their relationship.

These thoughts are what propelled her out of her own self-doubt and to make a decision.

And that decision was that tonight, Frankie would be getting a delightful surprise from her good girl - even thinking about Frankie’s names for her makes her melt - that was anything but innocent. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Frankie woke to her face smushed in one of the couch pillows and a hand running gently up and down her back. She let out a sigh as she rolled off of her stomach onto her side, intercepts that hand, and brings the fingers to her lips for a gentle kiss. She opens her eyes and peers into Grace's pools of ocean blue, feels her breath cease. It amazes Frankie how even after years of living together and knowing each other even longer, Grace still manages to take her breath away  _ every single time _ . 

“What are you looking at?” Grace asks gently.

Frankie could answer in a multitude of ways. _ Your eyes and their sparkle, your hair, your beautiful face, your lips, that little grin you always have when you’re near me, your wrinkles, and the wonderful stories they tell.  _ She could say all of these things, so she answers in the simplest way she can.

“You, honey, just you.” 

Frankie smiles as she sees the blush rise in her neck and cheeks. Frankie musters up all of her self-control to stop herself from pulling her back down onto the couch so she can give her everything. She sits up with a grunt and presses a soft kiss against her cheek. 

She suddenly remembers something that Grace had said to her earlier.

“I distinctly remember the words ‘Del Taco for lunch’ being used in a positive manner by you earlier.” She smirks at Grace.

“Brianna had something at work come up. But don’t worry, I got it all figured out,” Grace says as she shoots Frankie a wink “Come on, I put everything we need in the car. We’re ready to go.” Grace stands up and pulls Frankie from the couch.

“Lead the way.”

-

“Frankie! I’m not telling you where we’re going! It defeats the whole purpose of ‘surprise’!”

“Come on, just a teensy-weensy hint. _Anything_ , I’ll take anything.”

Grace sighs an exasperated sigh but answers “It takes us about half an hour to get there from the house.”

Frankie scoffs and opens her mouth to speak, but the look Grace is giving her is daring her not to ask any follow-up questions. Instead, she leans back and closes her eyes for the ride, only opening them when Grace intertwines her free hand with hers on the console and whispers “We’re almost there.”

As they turn onto a side road, Frankie suddenly notices the large neon sign displaying the words “South Bay Drive-In”. She turns her head to Grace, who waves at the gatekeeper when he lets them in without any question. The lot is empty except for them, and Grace picks a spot near the front that’s in the middle of the screen. She carefully backs the car in between the two posts that separate the parking spots and then parks. When she turns and sees Frankie’s half ecstatic-half confused face, she just smiles and says “Don’t move” and gets out of the car.

She keeps her head forward, watching the traffic on the freeway in the distance, and thanks whatever gods and goddesses are listening for her perfect human. The one who is sweet, quirky, kind, and somehow knows exactly how to treat a lady on her birthday. Knows that without a doubt, this will be a night to remember, and it hasn’t even really started yet. She’s startled out of her thoughts when a pair of knuckles raps on her window, the owner of them a beaming Grace. She quickly disappears towards the back of the car. Frankie steps out and rounds over to where Grace is standing. 

Her jaw drops.

A small foldable table with a vase of flowers with folding chairs and two wine glasses sits in front of the open trunk. The trunk itself has been made into a comfy looking mess of pillows and blankets, the twinkling fairy lights that Frankie had up in her studio for a while now lay draping around the entrance to the little hideout. Eventually, Frankie looks at Grace, who is sporting a dazzling smile and is gesturing for Frankie to sit at the table. Frankie does, and Grace pulls out a bottle of wine and two containers of...Frankie might just die… Del Taco. 

Frankie was smiling so hard she thought she would break.

“Do you like it?” Grace asks timidly, pouring Frankie’s wine. There’s a tiny hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Do I like it!? Grace this is… wow honey, this is next level. This is seriously, like ‘wow Democrats just gained control of the House, Senate, and Executive offices” level. I’m in shock. How the hell did you manage to do this?” 

“I, um, had the idea for this a while ago. I called Coyote a couple of weeks back. I remembered at a restaurant one time he told a story once about how his friend Kyle, something or other, knew someone who worked here and… You know, it’s kind of complicated. Regardless, it was a team effort between me and Coyote. I couldn’t have pulled this off without him.” 

Frankie feels warm at the thought of Grace and her son talking on the phone. Working together to help create something so memorable and wonderful. Her heart soars, but Grace still looks frazzled.

“And I’m sorry about the food. I tried to keep it warm enough but it might not-”

Frankie reaches out and grabs her hand across the table. Strokes her thumb over the back of Grace’s hand. She makes eye contact with Grace and can see the tension release in her partner’s shoulders.

“Sweetheart, it’s perfect. This is so, _so_ amazing. I honestly can’t believe you two did all of this for me! I mean- just, thank you, so much.”

She watches as Grace’s cheeks turn pink in the fading light. After they finished their Fresco bowls and made it through another glass of wine, Grace suggested they move into the car. It was just big enough that they could both lean back and stretch out. Grace opened a container of popcorn and set it between them. They waited a little while until the screen lit up, startling them both into laughter. 

Frankie had forgotten to ask what movie they would be seeing. She was about to ask when familiar faces appeared on the screen, capturing her attention. The video seemed to be showing a picture of her family on a zoom call. Brianna and Mallory, Bud, Allison, and Faith. Coyote, and of course, Robert, Sol, and Carl. She turned to Grace, mouth open in complete surprise. Grace just smiled, pulled Frankie’s hand into her lap, and leaned her head against Frankie’s shoulder as the video played.

_ “Hey mom and Grace. We really miss you and we really hope you enjoyed your special day. Mom, I really think you’ll like what Grace and I planned out for you. I hope I have someone who knows me as well as Grace knows you one day. Anyways, I love you and talk soon.” _

_ “Hey mom!” _

_ “Hey Frankie!” _

_ “We all miss you, Faith especially. We showed her the video Grace sent us the other day of you trying to explain the difference between the varieties of squash, and she just kept saying ‘Mimi’ and would not take her eyes off the phone. We all hope you had a great birthday and enjoyed your presents. We miss you. Love you, mom.” _

Frankie laughs tearily as Robert and Sol sing a horrible rendition of happy birthday (mainly made horrible by Sol’s warbly voice and attempted wolf howl at the end, but it’s the thought that counts.) Then Mallory wishes her a happy birthday and shows her the drawings the twins made. Madison and Mackling then read their homemade birthday cards and then launch into another “Happy Birthday” song sequence, followed by a  _ “We love you Grandma Frankie! _ ”. 

The screen goes black. Overwhelmed with love and appreciation for this woman next to her, for her family. Frankie turns to tell her so, but Grace is pointing at the screen. It has lit back up again and displays a video. Whoever is operating the projector presses play. The Grace on the screen looks up shyly at the camera, eyes shining, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

_ “Dear Frankie, _

_ This year has been tough. We’ve had a lot of time to think and to question about our lives, our families, the world outside of our tiny little beach house. There have been lots of arguments, tears, and disappointment, but throughout all of that, you came in and just made everything okay. That wonderful light that you have that seems to come from your soul just bursts through any pain that I’m feeling and just fills me up from the inside out, turning the tears into side stitches from laughing to hard at whatever terrible movie we watched. Or our arguments into deep discussions where we learn even more about each other and help heal each other’s wounds. I don’t know what I would do without you Frankie, I really don’t. _

_ I often feel like the luckiest person in the world. Not only do I have the privilege of being loved by you, but I also get to love you right back. I’m so lucky that I get to hold you every night, to wake up to your freezing toes and your morning breath and hair in my mouth. To help you through the hard times by being your partner and telling that pain to fuck right off. I’m so incredibly, almost unbelievably lucky Frankie.  _

_ Since I never know what Gods or Goddesses you are on good terms with on any given day, I guess I’ll just have to thank the universe, the cosmos, or whatever that we have each other. There is no one else I would rather have come barging in from the studio when I’m working on Vybrant and ruffle my hair, call me “Kevin” and twirl me around to some silly song you made up on the spot. No one else I would ever want to share my heart and soul with.  _

_ So here’s to you, my Frankie. Too many years to come full of laughter and joy.  _

_ From your Grace, who loves you so, so incredibly much, happy birthday.” _

The video ends, and the screen goes black. Frankie barely notices, because her heart swells with so much joy that she’s sure that her time on Earth has come to an end. Because she’s too busy wiping away tears that she hadn’t realized had fallen. She turns and looks at this woman, her heart and soul, next to her. Grace barely has enough time to utter “Did you-” before Frankie laces her fingers through her hair and crashes their lips together. The force of it causes Grace to let out an  _ mmph  _ before she wraps her willowy arms around Frankie’s neck and pulls her in even closer. 

When the kiss ends, and their lips are red and swollen and they finally catch their breath, Grace wipes smudges of lipstick off of Frankie’s face, manages to gain enough composure to ask her question.

“What’d you think?”

Frankie throws her head back and cackles, her short  _ ha-Ha  _ that people know her for and that Grace  _ adores _ . She steadies herself and cups Grace’s face in her hands.

“I think I just showed you,” She chuckles slightly and leans in, pressing her forehead against Grace’s “I just- you say that you’re not good with words, but what you just did there puts that to rest. Honey, that was _ beautiful _ . I can’t even… thank you, sweetheart,  _ so much _ .” She presses a chaste kiss to Grace’s lips. “I absolutely loved it.”

Grace ducks her head to hide her blush out of habit. She tightens her arms around Frankie and pulls her into her own form, kisses the top of her head. Pulls a blanket from the floor of the trunk around them when she feels a little shiver run through Frankie. She pulls away gently and checks her watch.

“It’s almost time for the movie.”

Instead of an answer, Frankie just pulls her back in for another hug, burying her face in her neck.

“Mmmm… but you’re so warm. And you smell so good. Is that the stuff I bought for you off the sample from that one magazine?”

“Yes, it is. And we can do this later,” Grace says, gesturing between the space -or lack of- between them. “but right now the movie’s on.” She points back to the screen.

The screen flickers back to life. The title flashes “Goonies”. Grace flashes her a smile and adjusts the pillows and blankets so they can recline comfortably next to each other. She grasps one of Frankie’s hands and they kick off their shoes, tangling their feet together underneath the blankets. 

5 years ago, if someone had told her that she would be sitting in the back of a car snuggling with stuck-up Grace Hanson, queen of martinis and cashmere sweaters and snark, she would’ve referred them to the nearest holistic doctor. Would’ve mocked the idea of them together  _ -ice-queen, emotionally-closed-off vodka-soaked WASP who goes to the hair salon twice a week with a free-spirited, Del Taco enthusiast hippie who doesn’t even buy her shampoo at the store, would never, not in a million years work- _ to hell and back.

But here she is, wrapped up in her now almost fully emotional, herbal tea-soaked, now almost completely grey-haired  _ “I’m not allowed to go to the salon and I’m too scared to do it myself, and no, Frankie, no matter how much I love you I’m not letting you near my hair with bleach and a pair of scissors. I might as well just let it go.”  _ lover’s arms. And there’s no place she’d rather be.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Wow. Can't believe I wrote something and then wrote another something in the same week! This was just going to be a one-shot, but that's no longer the case! I hope you enjoy this story!


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